News
Rare earth element signatures of Doushantuo cap dolostones capture an increase in oxygen in the anoxic Ediacaran ocean
Abstract.
"The Rare Earth Element (REE) systematics of the post-Marinoan cap dolostones reflect the marine redox conditions and chemistry in the immediate aftermath of the snowball Earth. Rare earth elements and yttrium (REY) compositions in the Doushantuo cap dolostones that directly overlie Nantuo glacial diamictites in south China are determined from the inner shelf to the slope. In general, shale-normalized REY patterns (REYSN) of the cap dolostones show significant fractionations that are characterized by light REE depletion, slight middle REE enrichment relative to the light and heavy REEs, positive Eu anomalies, and slightly super-chondritic Y/Ho ratios. [...]".
Source: Science Direct
Authors: Min Ren & Ruifan Li
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2023.106343
A hydrogenotrophic Sulfurimonas is globally abundant in deep-sea oxygen-saturated hydrothermal plumes
Abstract.
"Members of the bacterial genus Sulfurimonas (phylum Campylobacterota) dominate microbial communities in marine redoxclines and are important for sulfur and nitrogen cycling. Here we used metagenomics and metabolic analyses to characterize a Sulfurimonasfrom the Gakkel Ridge in the Central Arctic Ocean and Southwest Indian Ridge, showing that this species is ubiquitous in non-buoyant hydrothermal plumes at Mid Ocean Ridges across the global ocean. One Sulfurimonas species, USulfurimonas pluma, was found to be globally abundant and active in cold (<0−4 °C), oxygen-saturated and hydrogen-rich hydrothermal plumes. [...]".
Source: Nature
Authors: Massimiliano Molari et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01342-w
A molecular perspective on the invasibility of the southern ocean benthos: The impact of hypoxia and temperature on gene expression
Abstract.
"When an organism makes a long-distance transition to a new habitat, the associated environmental change is often marked and requires physiological plasticity of larvae, juveniles, or other migrant stages. Exposing shallow-water marine bivalves (Aequiyoldia cf. eightsii) from southern South America (SSA) and the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) to changes in temperature and oxygen availability, we investigated changes in gene expression in a simulated colonization experiment of the shores of a new continent after crossing of the Drake Passage, and in a warming scenario in the WAP. [...]".
Source: Frontiers
Authors: Mariano Martínez et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1083240
Drivers and Potential Consequences of Observed Extreme Hypoxia Along the Canadian Pacific Continental Shelf
Abstract.
"Bottom waters of the northeast Pacific continental shelf naturally experience localized hypoxic conditions, with significant influences on food webs and biogeochemical cycling. In August 2021, extreme hypoxia was detected from several measurement platforms along the southern British Columbia continental shelf, with oxygen concentration <60 μmol kg−1, and a difference from the seasonal climatology of more than 2 standard deviations. Early and intense remote upwelling and local density shifts were associated with an anomalously strong spring phytoplankton bloom, which likely stimulated localized respiration of subsurface organic matter. [...]".
Source: Wiley Online Library
Authors: Ana C. Franco et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101857
Early detection of anthropogenic climate change signals in the ocean interior
Abstract.
"Robust detection of anthropogenic climate change is crucial to: (i) improve our understanding of Earth system responses to external forcing, (ii) reduce uncertainty in future climate projections, and (iii) develop efficient mitigation and adaptation plans. Here, we use Earth system model projections to establish the detection timescales of anthropogenic signals in the global ocean through analyzing temperature, salinity, oxygen, and pH evolution from surface to 2000 m depths. For most variables, anthropogenic changes emerge earlier in the interior ocean than at the surface, due to the lower background variability at depth. [...]".
Source: Nature
Authors: Jerry F. Tjiputra et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-30159-0
Aquatic Productivity under Multiple Stressors
Abstract.
"Aquatic ecosystems are responsible for about 50% of global productivity. They mitigate climate change by taking up a substantial fraction of anthropogenically emitted CO2 and sink part of it into the deep ocean. Productivity is controlled by a number of environmental factors, such as water temperature, ocean acidification, nutrient availability, deoxygenation and exposure to solar UV radiation. Recent studies have revealed that these factors may interact to yield additive, synergistic or antagonistic effects. While ocean warming and deoxygenation are supposed to affect mitochondrial respiration oppositely [...]".
Source: MDPI
Authors: Donat-P. Häder & Kunshan Gao
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/w15040817
Pathways of N2O production by marine ammonia-oxidizing archaea determined from dual-isotope labeling
Abstract.
"The ocean is a net source of the greenhouse gas and ozone-depleting substance, nitrous oxide (N2O), to the atmosphere. Most of that N2O is produced as a trace side product during ammonia oxidation, primarily by ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), which numerically dominate the ammonia-oxidizing community in most marine environments. The pathways to N2O production and their kinetics, however, are not completely understood. Here, we use 15N and 18O isotopes to determine the kinetics of N2O production and trace the source of nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) atoms in N2O produced by a model marine AOA species, Nitrosopumilus maritimus. [...]".
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Authors: Xianhui S. Wan et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2220697120
Climate Change Impacts on Dissolved Oxygen Concentration in Marine and Coastal Waters around the UK and Ireland
Abstract.
"What is already happening
- Since the 1960s, the global oceanic oxygen content has declined by more than 2%.
- Sustained observations in the North Sea reveal the recent onset of oxygen deficiency in late summer, partly due to ocean warming. The intensity and extent of oxygen deficiency has also increased over time. [...]".
Source: Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership
Authors: Claire Mahaffey et al.
DOI: 10.14465/2023.reu07.oxy
Arctic deep-water anoxia and its potential role for ocean carbon sink during glacial periods
Abstract.
"Deep water freshening beneath pan-Arctic ice shelves has recently been proposed based on the absence of excess thorium in glacial Arctic sediments. This profound proposal requires scrutiny of Arctic paleohydrology during past glacial periods. Here, we present structural and geochemical results of inorganic authigenic carbonates in deep-sea glacimarine sediments from the Mendeleev Ridge, western Arctic Ocean over the last 76 kyr. Our results suggest that Polar Deep Water in the western Arctic became brackish and anoxic during stadial periods. We argue that sediment-laden hyperpycnal meltwater discharged from paleo-ice sheets filled much of the water column [...]".
Source: Nature
Authors: Kwangchul Jang et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00708-6
GO2NE Webinar on Ocean Deoxygenation
GO2NE Webinar on Ocean Deoxygenation.
"Do you want to know more about deoxygenation in the ocean?
Join us for the upcoming webinar!
Tuesday, 21st March 2023, 16:00 h – 17:00 CET
Please join the Global Ocean Oxygen Network (IOC Expert Working Group GO2NE) for a new session of its webinar series on ocean deoxygenation. The 19th webinar will take place 21 March 2023, 16:00 h CET. The webinar will feature presentations by a more senior and an early-career scientist, 20 minutes each followed by 10 minutes moderated discussion sessions.
If you are interested to present at one of the upcoming webinars please submit a short abstract here.
Moderation:
Andreas Oschlies
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany
Speakers:
Haichao Guo
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany
"Can oxygen utilization rates track the long-term trend of mesopelagic respiration"
Javier Arístegui
Instituto de Oceanografía y Cambio Global, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
"Estimating dark-ocean respiration through ETS activity"
If you want to receive further information about upcoming webinars please register here."

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